Chapter 736: First Brother to the rescue

The next morning, Atlas stopped by to visit Allen. He was a bit surprised to see Allen’s girlfriend still there.

"You’re still here?" he remarked as he approached the bed. The woman quickly stood up, smiling.

"I asked for another leave," she said. "Thankfully, it was granted."

"I see."

"Sir Atlas, I’ll just get something to eat," she added, giving Allen’s hand a gentle squeeze. But before she could leave, Atlas spoke.

"It’s okay," Atlas said. "You don’t have to leave. I’m just stopping by to check on him, then I’ll be on my way."

She pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded, understanding his intention. She had only offered to leave to give Atlas some privacy. Though she was grateful to Atlas, it was a bit awkward since he was technically a stranger, with Allen as their only connection.

"I heard he was showing signs of waking up this morning," Atlas remarked, earning a hopeful nod from her.

"Yes." She smiled in relief, glancing at Allen. "After days in the hospital, he finally moved his hand. The doctors said his medication is working well and his injuries are healing. If this continues, they believe he might wake up soon."

"I’m glad to hear that." Atlas nodded, noticing the slight tears in the corners of her eyes. "I just came by to check after hearing the news."

"Mhm."

"I’ll be on my way." With that, Atlas turned to leave; he had other matters to attend to.

"Sir Atlas," she called, watching as he looked back. "About the charges..."

"Don’t worry about it," Atlas assured her. "The culprit already confessed. It’ll be an easy trial."

She bit her lip and nodded, a grateful smile dominating her face. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

---

[Skyline Plaza]

Atlas had never been to Zoren’s home, even though he had met Zoren many times outside of work. As he drove slowly up the driveway, he couldn’t help but look around.

"Such a big lot," he murmured, reminded of the old Pierson family estate. "And then, a smaller residence."

From a quick glance, he could tell the Bennet Mansion was likely a bit bigger than Zoren’s house. But that didn’t matter. Considering Zoren’s preference for peace, a home surrounded by spacious grounds was fitting. It even gave Atlas an idea of the kind of house he might want.

Atlas wasn’t fond of people, either.

When he reached the end of the driveway, he parked the car. He’d already informed Zoren that he’d be coming by that morning. He also hadn’t seen Hugo and Penny in a while. Word had it that Slater was there too, so Atlas might have to drag him out before their third brother started getting too comfortable.

"Hugo staying at his sister and brother-in-law’s place is embarrassing enough. If Slater..." Atlas trailed off as he opened the car door, his gaze meeting a pair of emerald-green eyes looking right at him.

He blinked, taking in the sight of the large black panther standing by the driver’s seat. Just as he was sizing up Renny, the panther was sizing him up too.

"What?" Atlas asked coolly, blinking at the big cat in front of him. "Move, or you might get hit by the door."

With that, Atlas unhesitatingly stepped out, treating Renny as though he were a common house cat. He closed the car door and saw Chunchun standing nearby — almost directly behind Renny.

"No wonder you don’t want to come home, too," he muttered, heading toward the front door.

Renny tilted its head, its thought bubble seemingly filled with question marks, and looked back at the small white cat. Chunchun purred at him before licking the back of her paw.

When Renny’s eyes lingered on her, she snapped her gaze back. ’What? That’s First Uncle. He’s not supposed to care about us — or be scared of us.’

’Ahh...’ Renny looked back at Atlas’s retreating figure. ’First Uncle is so cool!’

Meanwhile, the guards nearby, who had just witnessed Atlas casually dismissing Renny, were in awe. They watched him walk toward the front door as if he hadn’t just encountered a black panther watching him intently.

"That’s the First Brother?" one of the bodyguards leaned over, whispering. "Has he been here before?"

"I doubt it," replied another. "If he had, we wouldn’t have received a memo about his arrival."

The first guard then looked at his colleague. "So, how come he just ignored Renny?"

"No idea."

Little did those who saw know that Atlas was simply used to ignoring the pets of his sister. This was no surprise at all. As long as it wasn’t a spider, he could deal with it.

---

Once Atlas was inside and directed to where Penny was, he didn’t idle. He headed straight to her location. However, when he approached the kitchen area, he noticed several bodyguards gathered at the entrance.

"Third Brother, you need to do something about this!" one of the bodyguards urged Slater.

"Yes, that’s right! If you don’t, you’ll have to eat that abomination!"

"Why me?!" Slater protested in distress. "Why not her husband?!"

Mark closed his eyes and sighed, adding, "He’s on a call with his lawyer. I think he’s making his last will."

Slater gasped while the others panicked. They urged Slater to stop Penny from her "wicked plan" of making breakfast for Zoren. Apparently, the praise she’d received the previous night had encouraged her to cook again, and now she was humming in the kitchen, preparing something horrible.

"No, I can’t do this..." Slater clutched his head dramatically, horrified as he remembered last night’s dinner. "I feel like I’m going to faint."

"Third Brother, don’t give up! Just help us — or stop her!"

"The master will surely make us all join him again."

"I don’t want to die like this!"

Atlas’s brow furrowed further as he watched the scene unfold. Strangely, they were all speaking in hushed tones, almost like a swarm of buzzing bees.

"What’s going on?" he asked, and everyone looked in his direction, shock and horror on their faces. "Did someone die?"

Slater rushed to his side, looking desperate. "First Brother, no one’s dead yet — but there will be a massacre later."